NARS Mexican Rose Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil Review and Swatches

NARS has a great line of lip pencils that come in three finishes: Satin (soft sheen), Velvet Matte (velvet finish) and Velvet Gloss (glossy shine). They're fantastic products and you feel like you're colouring using them. It's fun. 

Here's a review I did of NARS Dragon Girl, one of the Velvet Matte lip pencils, from ages ago. 

NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in Mexican Rose

In this post we look at the NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in Mexican Rose, which is a colour I've been eyeing for a while. Mexican Rose is a bright pink, perfect for spring and summer. 

NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in Mexican Rose

The pencil packaging means that they're easy to use and very portable. Just toss into your handbag and go! There's no need for brushes with this (if you keep the pencil sharpened). 

Speaking of sharpening, you'll need a jumbo pencil sharpener for this. The pencil is coated but inside it's some sort of wood or wood-like product so it's easy to sharpen. Since the gloss itself is so soft though, you're not looking for a lead pencil tip. Something like how it is in the photo below is what you want to aim for. 

NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in Mexican Rose

Mexican Rose Velvet Gloss is interesting in that it can start fairly sheer but it seems to itensify on its own after a little while. Of course, you can layer it to get a punch of colour, but even when you apply it very lightly, it goes on one way and itensifies.

NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in Mexican Rose - swatched (NW15 skintone)

The texture of Mexican Rose is smooth and light-weight but slightly sticky. Once it's on, you feel confident that it's not going to move. And move it does not. This is a long-lasting lip gloss. Its finish makes your lips look almost wet. Eventually the sheen wears off, but the colour is left behind in a stain meaning there's no immediate need to reapply. 

NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in Mexican Rose - swatched (NW15 skintone)

Colour-wise, it's a beautiful, bright, blue-toned pink. Oh, and NARS Velvet Glosses are moisturizing, so it's not going to feel drying like many glosses can after wearing them for awhile.

Here it is on my face! I'm not sure what blush I'm wearing in this photo, but it goes really nicely with Mexican Gloss, no? I'll have to figure out which one it is!

NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in Mexican Rose

I love wearing Mexican Rose. It's such an easy colour and product to just keep in my handbag and apply on a whim. Especially suited for warmer months of the year, it's also great for adding a pop of colour to the face in the colder months.

I highly recommend checking out Mexican Rose or any of the other Velvet Glosses if you're looking for an easy-to-apply, long-lasting, moisturizing, pigmented gloss. 

$26 US

In Canada, NARS is readily available at Sephora stores, The Bay stores and Murale stores.

Grade: A